NOSTALGIA AS AKIHITO’S REIGN ENDS

His era marked shift from 1980s economic boom

JAPANESE expressed warmth and gratitude towards Emperor Akihito ahead of his abdication yesterday, but judged his threedecade Heisei era as a period of difficulty and transition for Japan after the economic boom and confidence of the 1980s.

More than anything, people said they hoped peace would define the reign of Crown Prince Naruhito, who will become emperor today, ushering in the Reiwa era.

“Heisei had a lot of disasters and the economy stagnated,” 47year-old Kaori Hisatomi said in the capital here, where ceremonies were underway at the Imperial

Palace.

“It was a period of transition from the high-growth era, with its ‘can-you-work-24 hours’ mentality. Young people these days don’t think that way. Now it’s more, ‘What can I do to survive?’”

Japan is marking the transition to 59-year-old Naruhito, who will ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne today, with an unprecedented 10-day holiday.

The Heisei era began in early 1989, just before the collapse of Japan’s “bubble economy,” when sky-high stock and land prices plunged.

The decades of tepid growth and deflation that followed have tempered expectations about the economic future and Japan’s place in the world.

“Thinking patterns have changed,” Hisatomi said. “There’s not much confidence the economy will grow in a healthy way.”

Japan suffered several tragedies in the past three decades, including a huge earthquake and tsunami in 2011 that led to a nuclear crisis.

In 1995, a quake devastated Kobe port, and sarin attacks launched by a cult in Tokyo’s subway system shattered the myth of public safety.

Visits to disaster areas by Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, and their efforts to connect with people, have made them a popular royal couple.

Walking to a Shinto shrine to mark the day with his wife, 56year-old Masatoshi Kujirai said he had mixed feelings.

“I’m sad but also hopeful about the next era,” he said. “I hope it will be a peaceful, gentle period for the second half of my life.”

Masato Saito, a 40-year-old construction worker, said he had not given the abdication or the coming new era much thought.

“It’s a normal day. That kind of political stuff is irrelevant to us ordinary people,” he said.

“As long as they make our lives easy to live, that’s all I care.”